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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25189837">Always</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/adariasakura/pseuds/adariasakura'>adariasakura</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aang Needs a Hug, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Chronic Pain, Electrocution, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Aang, Includes References to Comics, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kataang - Freeform, Kissing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, if that isn’t a thing let’s make it a thing, kataangst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:29:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,258</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25189837</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/adariasakura/pseuds/adariasakura</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You always do this,” Katara whispered. She hoped he could hear the hurt there, riding the waves of her voice. </p><p>She hoped he could sense the anger there too, the same that had her clenching her hands into tight fists. </p><p>She also hoped he wasn’t looking at her; she didn’t want him to see the tears that were balancing precariously on her lashes. </p><p>“I don’t have a choice.” Aang’s voice sounded bitter, a caustic edge she’d rarely heard from him surprising her as it cut into her heart. </p><p>——————</p><p>Aang doesn’t come out of his fight with Ozai unscathed. He should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to hide it from Katara.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Aang &amp; The Gaang (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara &amp; Sokka (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>293</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Always</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first ATLA fic, and my first fic on AO3! I hope you all enjoy! </p><p>Although this references the comic “The Promise,” it does so very briefly. </p><p>I wrote this bc rebinging ATLA reminded me just how damn incredible it is. </p><p>Obviously, none of these characters belong to me. </p><p>And is kataangst a thing??? Bc I think it should be.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“There’s one technique you need to learn before facing my father.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He could feel it coming before it ever became tangible. </p><p> </p><p>Aang felt the electricity thrumming through the air, felt it burn over his skin and his nerves in a way fire never could. The scar on his back seemed to hum right along with it, but the tune was panicked and pained, laced with agony he would never forget. The dread coated his entire being, just like the lightning that had once torn and shredded through his body. </p><p> </p><p>Aang took to the skies just as their deep red was flooded with harsh blue. The earth around him shook with the force of the blast; he could feel it in his bones, in his feet where he landed. Without stopping to think, he gritted his teeth and slammed his fists into the earth, locking it around his wrists as he tore it up and sent it flying towards the Firelord. </p><p> </p><p>When it missed, he only had a moment to thoroughly panic — <em>this is bad, this is really, really bad</em> — before that familiar electricity was back in the air, and the bloodied sky melted away into a brilliantly charged blue. </p><p> </p><p>Aang called on the surrounding air without even thinking about it, leaping into the open and allowing it to carry him to the next rock—</p><p> </p><p>—And the next, and the next. The sky only turned red for a split second before the air around him was ripped apart by flashing light and deafening noise. </p><p> </p><p><em>Remember what Zuko said</em>, he thought hurriedly as he somersaulted to cushion his landing, his mind desperately recalling the short lesson he’d had with the prince. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent’s energy against them.</em>” </p><p> </p><p>“<em>That’s like waterbending!</em>” He’d said, the familiar excitement of learning something new and <em>awesome</em> thrumming beneath his skin, his mind flashing back to lessons with Katara, her hair long around her shoulders and her arms solid and powerful as she bended the water back to him. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>So...have you ever redirected lighting before?”</em> </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Once. Against my father.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>What did it feel like?</em>” </p><p> </p><p>Aang’s scar practically <em>screamed</em> at him as the surrounding air grew charged and hot, the sky darkening just a little. It was more than enough for him to know what was coming. </p><p> </p><p>It was more than enough for him to know that he couldn’t evade, he couldn’t rely on his airbending to carry him to the next rock, he didn’t have time to earthbend a barrier between himself and the oncoming lightning. </p><p> </p><p>Toph always told him that, to be an earthbender, he’d have to face things head-on, to stop dodging and avoiding cleverly and quickly, so different from the wind he’d been born from. </p><p> </p><p>Aang knew he wasn’t just an Airbender, not anymore. He was the Avatar. </p><p> </p><p>But as he reached out to take the lightning streaking its way towards his chest, Aang couldn’t help the insurmountable terror he felt as he planted his feet firmly on the ground. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Exhilarating</em>.” </p><p> </p><p>It all slammed into him at once, and he had to take a step backward to stay upright. He drew his arms in like Zuko had taught him, back when it’d been easy to pretend that the thought of lightning didn’t terrify him, that he was well-aware how it felt, having that kind of power course its way through his body in its ruthless hunt for the ground. </p><p> </p><p>Katara didn’t have spirit water. Not this time. </p><p> </p><p>This time, if he went down...</p><p> </p><p>“<em>I was gone. But you brought me back.” </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Her hands stopped in their ministrations, the water pausing, suspended where she’d frozen, her eyes downcast. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“I just used the spirit water from the North Pole.” She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but as her eyes met his, he knew </em>she<em> knew that it had been anything </em>but<em>. “I don’t know what I did exactly.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>He’d been </em>dead<em>. He’d died, for real. He’d died, and the Earth Kingdom had fallen, and the whole world had lost its last hope, and she’d brought him back, broken and scarred against Appa’s head as they fled. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>He’d died, but she’d </em>brought him back. </p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>He turned, ignoring the discomfort that laced through that spot right in the center of his back, the one that marked his failure and mocked him, keeping him just a chakra away from going into the Avatar State. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>But as he met her eyes, it all settled over him softer than he thought it would. He should be dead. But he wasn’t. And the girl he loved had saved his life, and he supposed that, maybe, he’d let her down too. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She looked too tired, too worn. The Avatar, the world’s last hope, had died in her arms, after all. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You saved me,” he breathed. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She just reached forward, her hand cupping his cheek, the tips of her fingers resting in the hair on his head he knew he’d never get used to. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You need to rest.” Her voice was quiet too. Everything felt that much quieter, mercifully so, as he stared into her blue eyes.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>This time, if he went down, the entire world would pay. Everything he’d fought for, everyone he’d <em>died</em> for...it would all be for naught. </p><p> </p><p>He thought of those blue eyes, so tired, so worn. </p><p> </p><p>He wouldn’t put her through that. Not again. </p><p> </p><p>The lightning surged and writhed in his chest where he’d bent his arms. He couldn’t help the scream that tore its way from his throat as he felt it trying to fry him from the inside out. He felt the power there, too, the one Zuko had warned him about. </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t find it exhilarating. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>But terrifying.</em>” </p><p> </p><p>Before his mind could pull him back into Ba Sing Se, Azula’s lightning shredding its way through his body, he grounded himself, digging his feet into the earth, allowing the energy to <em>flow</em> through him instead of <em>tear</em> through him. It was excruciating, but he lifted his eyes and pointed his fingers towards the Firelord, gaining a semblance of control over the lightning that could so easily end him. </p><p> </p><p>The Firelord’s molten eyes were alight with fear and disbelief. He was defenseless, powerless to stop the blast Aang would send his way. </p><p> </p><p>Aang realized it could all end here, right now. All he had to do was let the lightning finish passing through him. All he had to do was <em>let it go.</em></p><p> </p><p>Gyatso’s face settled across his mind’s eye, and the promises and the lifestyle the Fire Nation had tried to completely obliterate held onto his heart, digging its claws in and refusing to <em>let him lose himself.</em> </p><p> </p><p>He redirected the lightning into the sky, and it harmlessly rang out through the air. The Firelord’s face twisted into a smirk, and Aang wondered briefly if he’d just sealed his fate, and with it, the fate of the world. <br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
She watched the airship grow closer above them, supporting Zuko’s weight as they both waited anxiously for it to land. Appa was right behind them, his teeth bared as he growled lowly in his throat. </p><p> </p><p>“Shh, it’s okay Appa. Our friends are up there.” Katara turned as much as she could, careful not to shift too much, afraid of causing Zuko any more pain than he was already in. In all honesty, she’d much rather he had stayed inside, but he’d been adamant. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>I want to see them. I want to know that they’re all alright.” </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Zuko, please. You were hurt badly. Let me take you somewhere you can rest.” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>His eyes narrowed, and although she was briefly reminded of the anger she’d grown so accustomed to seeing there over the months he had pursued them, she knew this wasn’t the same. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>This anger was desperate, pleading. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>She knew that kind of anger all too well, had felt it when Aang had taken off not even a </em>full day<em> after he had first woken up, as she’d finally confronted her father about the pain she’d felt when he’d chosen to leave. When she couldn’t understand why Aang couldn’t get it through his </em>thick skull<em> that they all needed him. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>That </em>she<em> needed him. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Katara relented then, reaching out for Zuko to take her hand. The surprise on his face almost had her smiling.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Just let me help you, then.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And despite the fact that the rational part of her knew this had to be them, that this had to be her friends, another part of her, the one that had watched these same airships destroy their only escape route on the day of the invasion, had her tightening her grip on Zuko’s arm in the familiar anticipation for a fight. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s them. If it wasn’t, I’m sure someone would have started firing at us by now.”</p><p> </p><p>Katara swallowed thickly, shoving down her frustration at having been read so easily. </p><p> </p><p>“If it isn’t--”</p><p> </p><p>“Katara. It’s them. You’re just as bad as Appa.” </p><p> </p><p>The sky bison roared quietly behind them as if in indignation. Katara just sighed, letting her grip loosen just a tad.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right.” </p><p> </p><p>Zuko breathed out a relieved sigh. “For a minute there, I thought I was going to permanently lose all feeling in my hand.”</p><p> </p><p>She turned to glare at him, his straight face all the more infuriating. She had to hand it to him -- he was undeniably the most dramatic person she’d ever met, and she was related to <em>Sokka</em>. </p><p> </p><p>But the airship was now close enough to blow her hair back and away from her face, and very quickly, Zuko’s comment no longer meant a thing. </p><p> </p><p>Appa started to grow more agitated, once even lifting off of his front legs, clearly upset and impatient and <em>wanting to see</em>. Katara felt it too, felt the anxiety grip her clothes and try to drag her down, felt it fisting in the fabric of her dress and <em>pulling</em> until it started getting hard to breathe. As the airship landed, all she could think about was <em>what if they don’t all walk down that ramp? What if they have to tell me that one of them didn’t make it? What if one of them is dying, or worse, and they carry them down that ramp, and—</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What if Aang won, but at the cost of his own life? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Katara knew then and there she could never consider that a victory. Never. </p><p> </p><p>The ramp lowered down, and the door behind it bent and screeched as Toph bended it. Katara knew it was her before she’d actually tossed the metal remains onto the floor, where they landed in an unceremonious, clattering heap. Toph stepped aside, and Katara could feel her teeth digging into the soft skin of her bottom lip as she waited. </p><p> </p><p>Suki and Sokka were next. Katara’s heart sank when she saw that Suki had to support his weight. He was greatly favoring one leg over the other, wincing slightly as they made their way down the platform. Katara longed to race to his side, to heal his leg as much as she could, but she couldn’t very well do that with Zuko leaning his entire weight on her side. Thankfully, Suki looked more or less fine, aside from the occasional bruise or scrape arching over whatever skin Katara could see. </p><p> </p><p>Sokka’s eyes found hers after only a few moments, and they immediately lit up. “Katara!” He exclaimed, excitedly trying to hop towards her. Suki took no time in smacking him none-too lightly upside the head, gesturing to his leg as he pouted. </p><p> </p><p>Katara couldn’t help the smile that lifted the corners of her lips. “Sokka!” Slowly, she started to make her way towards him, Zuko helping as much as he could. She saw him wince out of the corner of her eye, but before she could say anything, he stopped, turning his gaze directly to hers. </p><p> </p><p>“Go help him, I’ll be fine.” </p><p> </p><p>She might’ve made some kind of remark about how frustratingly stubborn he’d been just minutes before at any other time, but with her brother so close and the fear in her chest about <em>him</em> still so alive and scalding, she gently placed Zuko on the ground. Appa had followed, she noticed, and she leaned the prince against the bison’s soft fur. Appa leaned over to drag his huge tongue over Zuko’s form, leaving him sputtering and thoroughly covered in skybison saliva. But she barely even registered that either, taking off towards Sokka. </p><p> </p><p>“What happened?” She demanded as Suki lay Sokka gently on the ground. Katara quickly bended the water from her pouch and let it coat her hands, pressing them to her brother’s clearly injured leg. She winced as she felt the disconnected bone and the tangled energies she’d learned to read overtime. </p><p> </p><p>“Eh, nothing much. I just, kinda, fell off a warship onto another warship and landed wrong. No biggie, though.” </p><p> </p><p>Katara couldn’t help but roll her eyes, trying not to convey how much the image scared her. “Yeah, no biggie.” She finished, redirecting water back into the pouch at her side. “You’ll need more healing sessions...I wish I could’ve gotten to it sooner.” </p><p> </p><p>Sokka shrugged. “It’s fine.” Then, without warning, he reached up and pulled her close, crushing her into a very, very tight platypus-bear hug. She didn’t mind, scrambling to hug him back just as fiercely. </p><p> </p><p>“We did it,” she whispered breathlessly. </p><p> </p><p>Sokka just shook his head, solemnity he rarely showed radiating off of him. </p><p> </p><p>“Not just us,” he said, pulling back and jutting his thumb over his shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>Katara’s mouth suddenly went dry as she looked over her brother’s shoulder and back to the airship. Toph was at the base of the ramp, a man that had to be the Firelord chained with metal at her feet. The same men who had taken Azula were there, and Toph watched with a satisfied expression as they dragged him away. Katara didn’t care to watch where they were taking him. No, she cared a lot more about the person that had still yet to come out of the airship. </p><p> </p><p>“Go to him,” Sokka said, his smile practically bleeding into his words. </p><p> </p><p>Katara didn’t have to be told twice. She leapt to her feet and started running toward the airship, all the while keeping her eyes trained on where Aang should appear in the doorway. </p><p> </p><p>When he finally, finally did, she couldn’t help but falter, her steps stopping abruptly. </p><p> </p><p>He stood at the top of the ramp, Momo standing on his shoulder. He was smiling at Toph, laughing at something she was saying to him, her hands on her hips. But there was something...off about it, about the way he bantered with her. It looked forced, thinly veiling the exhaustion in his eyes. He surveyed the area around them, his eyebrows creased in the way they always did when he was worried. She was barely breathing by the time his gray eyes rested on her, so wide and so full of something that used to scare her, but now only had her running towards him with all her might.</p><p> </p><p>Aang leapt the rest of the way from the platform onto the ground, his tattered clothing lifting off of him as he airbended himself down. She hadn’t even noticed how much of his torso was showing, but she surely would think about it later, an unwelcome blush powdering her cheeks while she sat on her bed, alone.</p><p> </p><p>Right then, however, that didn’t matter. What did matter was reaching him, was pulling him into her arms and holding him there like she’d never let him go, and maybe she wouldn’t, not after he’d just left <em>the day before the comet</em>, off to someplace she couldn’t find him, where no one could find him. </p><p> </p><p>He was a lot faster than her when he airbended, obviously. She was beyond grateful when he was suddenly in front of her, so real and alive and --</p><p> </p><p>She crashed into him, throwing her arms around his body. He hugged her back just as tight, burying his face into her shoulder. She reached up, holding his head there as she breathed him in, as she practically drowned in his presence, wondering how she could’ve ever told him that she felt <em>confused</em>. </p><p> </p><p>She hadn’t been confused. She’d been <em>afraid</em> -- afraid of entering a relationship in the middle of a war. Afraid of her own feelings, of the way she felt whenever he laughed or smiled, whenever she got lost in his gray eyes. </p><p> </p><p>Afraid of the way she had felt when he had died in her arms. </p><p> </p><p>But now, she knew she was more afraid of losing him than any of the other feelings that overwhelmed her. She knew. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank goodness,” she whispered against his temple, her eyes squeezed shut. “Thank goodness you’re okay.” </p><p> </p><p>Aang’s hands tightened in the back of her dress, fisting it between his fingers. Katara could feel now that he was shaking, and she just held him closer to her, wondering idly if she was shaking too. </p><p> </p><p>“Are-are you okay? Sokka told me you and Zuko came to fight Azula, and she’s, I mean, she’s <em>insane—</em>”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, pulling away to meet his eyes. She smiled softly, reaching up to cup the side of his face. His eyes were wide when she said, “I’m fine, Aang.”</p><p> </p><p>The worry on his face didn’t vanish entirely, but it softened just a bit before he pulled her back towards him, his hands now wrapped up in her hair. This hug felt less desperate, less like they thought this would be the last one. This one felt…</p><p> </p><p>It just felt like he wanted to hold her, to tilt his head and breathe in the scent of her hair. To smile against her skin when she involuntarily shivered. </p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t think waterbenders could really get <em>cold</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Katara didn’t miss a beat, although she couldn’t help the blush that rose to her cheeks. </p><p> </p><p>“This has nothing to do with that.” </p><p> </p><p>She could imagine him blushing up a storm right about now, wanted to pull back and smirk at him, but a loud <em>ahem</em> to their right had her pulling back for a different reason. </p><p> </p><p>“Gee, it’s nice to know just how appreciated I am. I missed you too, Sugar Queen.” </p><p> </p><p>Katara just laughed, releasing Aang and pulling Toph close to her, feeling lighter than she had in a long, long time. </p><p> </p><p>Toph let out a small cry of shock when Katara wrapped her arms around her, but despite her protests, it was obvious she really didn’t mind. “Yeah yeah, I know,” she said softly. Katara just kept her eyes squeezed shut, hugging her even tighter. </p><p> </p><p>“By the way, why don’t you guys, just, <em>get a room, please.</em>” </p><p> </p><p>Katara pulled away and stepped back, horrified at the heat she felt on her cheeks and neck, but even more horrified by the way that suggestion <em>really</em> made her feel. Aang was sputtering next to her, his hands raised and waving back and forth as he tried to explain, and Katara soon found herself joining him. </p><p> </p><p>But she hoped, deep, deep, <em>deep</em> down, that Aang wasn’t actually protesting <em>too</em> much. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>It was during times like these, when Aang knew that there was no one actively trying to kill him, when his friends were all around him and the sun was low, when he really got the chance to take a good, long look at Katara. </p><p> </p><p>And the fact that she was standing right in front of him, so close and so real, so safe and so beautiful, so ethereal in the golden glow blanketing her dark skin…</p><p> </p><p>Aang couldn’t help but feel everything else slip away — all the residual fear that still threatened to coil its way around his throat and squeeze, the ever-growing pain in his chest that was starting to creep and ache towards the scar on his back, dulled considerably as he looked at her. </p><p> </p><p>Katara’s smile was soft, lightly gracing her features in a way that had her blue eyes melting beneath what he saw there. He didn’t think he could actually describe what it was, not in words. He was sure what he saw there, swimming in that ocean of blue, was reflected in his own gaze. </p><p> </p><p><em>Love</em>. It was simple, yet, at the same time, Aang knew there was <em>so much more</em> to it than that. </p><p> </p><p>In her eyes he saw the first face he’d seen after waking up on that floating slab of ice so long ago, the one that had smiled when he had blearily focused his attention on it. He saw all the pain, all the joy, all the strength, and all the experience they’d all gained over the last nine months. He saw the girl who had saved his life, who had vowed to never turn her back on the people who needed her, who had become a waterbending master against all odds. </p><p> </p><p>And of course, he saw the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, to spend every hour, waking or not, by her side.</p><p> </p><p>But he was especially attentive of the fact that, before either of their feelings had ever been realized, she’d been his <em>friend</em>. One of his <em>best</em>. And she always would be. </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t even think to glance down at her lips when he reached forward and pulled her into a hug. Her arms came up and over his shoulders without any prompting, and he leaned into her touch, held her to himself for all he was worth, tried to convey all he was thankful to her for, all he owed her, and all he wanted to owe her, without any other motive, without that familiar desire that would always grow warm in his chest and paint a blush over his pale skin. </p><p> </p><p>Because before he had fallen in love with her, she had been his friend. And he was eternally grateful for that — after he’d been confirmed as the Avatar, friends were harder and harder to come by. </p><p> </p><p>And it had hardly seemed like any effort for her, excitement shining in her eyes when he’d asked her if she wanted to go penguin sledding with him. </p><p> </p><p>She started to lean back, her arms loosening just enough for her to stare into his eyes. Aang met hers, and the air in his chest just <em>stopped</em>. Everything just stopped — actually, was the sun still lowering into the sky? Were Sokka, Suki, Toph, Mai, Zuko, and Iroh still meandering about the shop to their left, laughing about Sokka’s painting? </p><p> </p><p>Aang discovered that he really, really didn’t care. Because, for the first time, she was leaning in to kiss <em>him</em>, and once her lips had crashed onto his own, he felt his insides <em>melt</em>. </p><p> </p><p>He got lost immediately — he was tangled up, hopelessly intertwined and absorbed in everything that was <em>Katara</em>. Gaining confidence, he pressed forward against her, kissing her with everything he had, holding her tight enough against him that they could’ve melded together, air and water combining in a shattering wave of passion, in lost time and the realization that they had <em>forever</em>. He had forever to be with her, Aang knew, and he <em>relished</em> in it, in the unchecked love and possibilities in his future, in <em>their</em> future. </p><p> </p><p>But he had a whole lifetime to live that. Right now, he wanted to live in this moment, tilting his head to deepen the kiss as his tongue brushed across her lower lip and she readily gave in—</p><p> </p><p>“Hey guys—<em>ah</em>!”</p><p> </p><p>Aang jumped back faster than he’d done anything before in his life, and considering all the times he’d had to dodge lightning only a few days before, that was saying something. He was mortified, he decided. Absolutely mortified. He could feel the blush burning on his cheeks and turning his face into one large, tattooed tomato as he frantically waved his arms over his head, his attention now directed towards a very wide-eyed, very shocked Sokka.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Why, Spirits, why? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Katara had already whirled on her brother, one hand on her hip, the other pointed accusingly at his face. Aang could picture her expression, the same one she always reserved for scolding, as she yelled:</p><p> </p><p>“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking, Sokka?!”</p><p> </p><p>Aang almost, <em>almost</em> wanted to make a remark about how that didn’t quite work, but he decided he was too embarrassed to get his vocal chords to work right then, especially when thinking about talking made him think about how <em>he was still out of breath from kissing Katara and having her lips on his and the way her hands had tightened behind his neck to pull him tighter against her and—</em></p><p> </p><p><em>Stop stop stop stop</em>. He had to resist the overpowering urge to cover his face behind his hands. </p><p> </p><p>Sokka was saying something now, his tongue out of his mouth in what Aang hoped was mock disgust. “First of all, you’re supposed to knock before you go inside, not before you go outside! And second—“</p><p> </p><p>Aang didn’t catch the second point of Sokka’s argument. Something sharp and white-hot shot through his chest and into his back, surprising him enough that he almost pitched forward, almost gave himself away. He caught himself, gritting his teeth and bearing it, felt as a cold sweat broke out on the crown of his head. His hands shook as the wave crashed agonizingly over him, doing its damndest to drag him out with the tide. He dug his feet in the sand, felt the attack dull into a throbbing, aching mess in his chest. </p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t made a sound. He sagged with relief as his eyes refocused on Katara and Sokka, trying to smile despite the unease in his chest. </p><p> </p><p><em>It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s just a little bit of after effects, or something like that. It’s not a big deal. Zuko’s the one who really got hurt. I’m </em>fine<em>. It’s all gonna be just fine.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Uh, Sokka?” </p><p> </p><p>Sokka didn’t acknowledge him, still engaged in a shouting match with Katara. Aang was just happy his voice hadn’t shaken. With more confidence, he tried again. </p><p> </p><p>“Sokka!”</p><p> </p><p>“Time out. Yeah Aang?” Sokka abruptly cut Katara off, much to her obvious chagrin. She didn’t say anything though when her brother turned to Aang, instead choosing to lean back and cross her arms over her chest. Her wide sleeves fell gracefully over her middle. </p><p> </p><p>“What’d you come out here to tell us?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, right! We’re about to head out.” </p><p> </p><p>Aang frowned, watching as Sokka started towards Appa. “But the Earth King’s celebration doesn’t start for a couple more hours.”</p><p> </p><p>Sokka’s grin widened. “I know. We wanted to take Appa out for a ride first!”</p><p> </p><p>And as Sokka turned fully towards Appa and prepared to climb up his tail, Aang could feel Katara’s eyes on him. But he didn’t think it had anything to do with their intimate moment only minutes before. He could <em>feel</em> it. </p><p> </p><p>He decided he didn’t want to meet her gaze, to see the concern there, because he knew that, if he did, he’d break. He couldn’t afford that, not now. </p><p> </p><p>At the Earth King’s celebration, he was going to have to be the Avatar. And he couldn’t do that if he got caught in the spiral. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m coming, Sokka!” Aang called up to where Sokka sat on Appa’s back, bending the air around him to launch himself upwards. As he settled on Appa’s head, he met Katara’s eyes before he could stop himself.</p><p> </p><p>The breeze had picked up, and it was now lifting the hair off of her shoulders and lightly billowing her dress around her legs. Her hands lay motionless at her sides, but nothing about her stance seemed relaxed. There was a certain tenseness to her shoulders, one Aang had come to know well over the past year. </p><p> </p><p>Katara knew something was up. Aang stared into her eyes, his own wide and undeniably guilty. He could feel his shoulders start to creep up around his ears out of habit, and he looked away quickly. </p><p> </p><p>By the time they were over the city, the sky lit up by fireworks and his ears filled with the laughter and voices of his friends, Aang had almost forgotten about it. </p><p> </p><p>But when he turned around to make a quip about something Sokka had said, his eyes fell on Katara before he really knew what he was doing. It was habitual, at this point. He was always searching her out. </p><p> </p><p>Her eyes were narrowed, but not out of anger. It was almost like she was studying him, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with him.</p><p> </p><p>Aang furrowed his brows and faced forward again, drawing his knees up to his chest. There was <em>nothing wrong</em> with him. He was fine. He didn’t need her — or anyone — to be worried about him, to coddle him. He was <em>fine</em>. </p><p> </p><p>His chest twinged. He felt that same numbness return, the kind that left him shaky and his body tingling uncomfortably. </p><p> </p><p><em>It’ll pass. It’s </em>fine<em>.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>I’m<em> fine.</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Aang was not, in fact, fine. </p><p> </p><p>His hands flew to his chest, gripping his robes there between sweaty, trembling fingers. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It’ll pass.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>His body felt numb again. He was splayed all over the floor, but he couldn’t <em>feel it</em>. At least, not in the way he knew he should’ve been able to. The tiled bathroom wasn’t nearly as cold as he remembered it being on his bare feet, or nearly as solid, or smooth, or <em>anything</em>.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t <em>feel it,</em> and as his free hand clawed at the ground, his nails scraping against the floor in a futile attempt to ground himself, he was terrified.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It’ll pass.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>It was getting hard to breathe. Each gasp sent sharp waves of electrified agony tracing the lining of his lungs, of his ribs and every single fiber of his chest. The scar on his back was <em>screaming</em> at him, sending his mind back in time, lightning coursing through his body and snuffing his life out entirely. </p><p> </p><p>A single, agonized tear trailed its way down his face, the frustration and fear and pain all intermixing into something he wasn’t nearly equipped enough to handle. He could still feel the heat that had been suffocating him, so close and so horribly <em>violent</em> in its attempts to break through the rock encasing him. He could still hear the Firelord’s taunts, the ones about the genocide of the Air Nomads that had stabbed so harshly at his heart, he’d almost allowed the earth keeping him alive to fall away. </p><p> </p><p>He remembered almost dying. He remembered almost dying, and realizing that, if he did, he’d be dying <em>alone</em>. He’d be dying alone, and he wouldn’t have ever said goodbye. Not to Suki, or to Zuko, or to Toph, or to Sokka, or to Katara. Not to Appa or Momo. </p><p> </p><p><em>Spirits</em>, the last interaction he would’ve had with them would’ve been that fight. That would’ve been <em>it</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Thinking about it made him sick to his stomach. The nausea roiled in his gut, and he had half a mind to go racing to the toilet. </p><p> </p><p>The other half, however, was stuck, wrapped up and consumed in the pain and the fear, the raw distress that was tearing him apart and keeping him under, drowning and much too disoriented to figure out which way was up. </p><p> </p><p>But as all of the other attacks had, this one passed eventually. By the time he’d come back to himself, he was shaking so bad that standing on his own two feet just wasn’t an option. With gritted teeth and a grunt, he managed to pull himself up by the bathroom counter. His hands were still slippery with sweat. </p><p> </p><p><em>Go get Katara.</em> </p><p> </p><p>He dismissed that thought almost before it had finished passing through his mind. He knew it was stupid; he <em>knew</em> that. But rationality was not currently something he chose to affiliate with, and it was quickly overcome with the anxiety that came with thinking about someone else knowing that he was broken, that the fight with the Firelord might have left him permanently damaged. </p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t the strong, untouchable Avatar a lot of people relied on. And he wasn’t quite ready for people to know it. </p><p> </p><p>Aang’s staff was outside of the bathroom, leaning against the huge bed’s frame. Aang had felt weird when Zuko had given him the room, had run his hands tentatively over the comforter and the canopied mineral wood. It made sense that they would avoid materials that were susceptible to burning. </p><p> </p><p>It was the luxuriousness of it all that had kept him awake, that had initially gotten him out of bed and into the bathroom, throwing water over his face as he gripped the counter tightly. </p><p> </p><p>His plan to go sleep somewhere outside, somewhere that felt less stiff and less suffocating, had been botched the moment the attack had hit. </p><p> </p><p>The monks had always taught him to let go of earthly, self-indulgent practices. Life was simple, and all the more beautiful for it. Even the Elders, while often clothed a bit differently than the rest of the monks, weren’t surrounded by gold, weren’t built around the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the rulers of other nations. The Air Nomad culture was...it was just <em>different</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Sleeping outside for the past year, under the cover of the stars, Sokka and Katara mere feet away, had reminded him of his people’s nomadic culture. It had been a comfort, something Aang had held onto, a tether to a people who were gone.</p><p> </p><p>While he’d learn to set it aside in lue of more important things, life was full of reminders of the death of his people. Of that fact that he was the last Airbender. </p><p> </p><p>Aang finally made it to the bed, his hand grasping the staff between weak fingers. He leaned on it for support, thought about the glider he’d grown up with, the one he’d let burn atop that volcano. </p><p> </p><p>He just...he needed to get outside. </p><p> </p><p>His robe was entirely soaked through; with a huff, he drew it off himself and tossed it to the ground. The cool air hit his skin, and he welcomed it, although he was unwilling to take his pants off. He didn’t want to consider how many different ways <em>that</em> could go wrong. </p><p> </p><p>Aang used the glider like a cane, and he wasn’t keen on the memories that resurfaced, retelling the story of how he’d woken up alone in that Fire Navy ship, fully believing he’d been captured, too injured to fight back, much less escape. </p><p> </p><p>And then he’d been in Katara’s arms, but the world thought he was dead, and it had all hit him at once like a very, very hard punch to the gut. </p><p> </p><p>He hated feeling like a failure. </p><p> </p><p>And this? Whatever he was feeling now, all poorly pent up and festering in his core? He knew it wasn’t the same. He hadn’t failed, not this time. </p><p> </p><p>But he was downright terrified of the likelihood of failure in his future. Of its certainty, of the realization that just because the war was over, he didn’t get a break. Now, he had an entire <em>world</em> to fix. Colonies that might not want to be removed. Conflicts and politics more complex than he’d been ready for. </p><p> </p><p>And these attacks were just getting more and more frequent. He couldn’t bear to think about what would happen when he got one while on a mission, or while he was addressing a court of officials. He couldn’t <em>bear</em> it. </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t bother closing the door behind him. That was the last thing on his mind. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Katara just had to check. She knew her actions were entirely justifiable. He’d obviously been in pain, and he’d been downright foolish in thinking he could hide it from her forever. </p><p> </p><p>The idea that he’d been able to hide it from her at all sent guilt and anger chasing each other through the veins of her heart. She thought she was better than this. </p><p> </p><p>But she also had thought that <em>he</em> was better than this. That, after running away only a day after waking up from his coma, he’d learned his lesson. He needed them, and they needed him. </p><p> </p><p>And she’d thought that, after everything, he trusted her enough to let her know that something was wrong. </p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t deny it — it hurt, thinking that he might not. </p><p> </p><p>Either way, she was going to march up to his room and knock. And she’d make sure he let her in, because she was the only one who could help him. Her water pouch was strapped to her hip, and she had every intention to use it, to heal him, to make all the pain and hurt go away as much as she could. </p><p> </p><p>And maybe, along the way, she would bring up the kiss. Because she wasn’t quite sure what it all meant now, but she knew that she wanted it to mean <em>something</em>. </p><p> </p><p>It was no wonder she hadn’t been able to sleep. </p><p> </p><p>She turned the corner before Aang’s room, remembering the way after having been with him when Zuko had shown him where he’d be staying. Katara had felt Aang’s discomfort as if it were the powerful, tangible air he could use to fight and to fly. Her heart had ached for him. </p><p> </p><p>Places like this just weren’t in his element. More than anything, she wished she could rebuild the Air Temples or bring back the Air Nomads. </p><p> </p><p>He’d lost so much, and she was ashamed of each instance she’d yelled at him, claiming he could never understand her pain. Now, she knew he’d felt it tenfold. </p><p> </p><p>And it all seemed to be hitting him extra hard lately. She had to get him, fast. </p><p> </p><p>She didn’t want to think about what he might—</p><p> </p><p>The door was open. </p><p> </p><p>She stopped in her tracks, her pulse thumping hard and fast where her heart had jumped into her throat. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>What’s wrong, Katara?</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>He left.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>She was running, shoving the double doors open all the way. His glider was gone. The bed was rumpled, but the covers hadn’t been pulled back. There was a light on in the bathroom. It was empty. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>What?</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared.</em>” </p><p> </p><p>Katara whirled around, her breaths quick and shallow. She was sprinting now, tearing through the halls as she tried to remember through her panic-hazed brain how to get outside. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>He has this...ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone. That it’s all </em>his<em> responsibility.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>Out of habit, she kept one hand on her pouch, ready to bend the water out at a moment’s notice. The large doors leading outside loomed ahead of her, dark red in the night. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Maybe that’s his way of being brave.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>She threw open the doors, tearing out into the cold night air. It had started to rain; she didn’t bother bending the water off of her as she searched with her eyes, desperate for a glimpse of him. He couldn’t have gone far. He <em>wouldn’t</em> have. </p><p> </p><p>Right? </p><p> </p><p>“<em>It’s not brave! It’s selfish and stupid!</em>”</p><p> </p><p>The fury was hot in her chest, spurring her forward through the harsh wind and heavily cascading rain. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>We could be helping him, and I know the world needs him, but doesn’t he know how much that we need him too?</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Aang!” She screamed, her hands cupped around her mouth. The wind ate her words and spat them out somewhere no one could hear them. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>How could he just leave us behind?</em>”</p><p> </p><p>Katara knew this wasn’t like before; they weren’t on the run, they weren’t preparing to end a war that had been raging strong for a hundred years. They’d already won; <em>Aang</em> had won. This wasn’t like before. </p><p> </p><p>That didn’t make her feel better. Not in the slightest. </p><p> </p><p>Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, and she shut them tight, gritting her teeth against the onslaught of despair that threatened to tear her apart. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose, feeling the water around her as it fell, so alive and so <em>in her control</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Wherever Aang had gone, whatever he had decided to do -- that wasn’t in her power. But water <em>always</em> was. She relished in the feeling, lifting her arms with strength coursing through her veins as she stood straight, holding them out from her body. The rain around her stopped, frozen in place just as it had when she’d stood in front of the man who had murdered her mother. At that point, it had all been a show of power -- she’d bent the water with the strength and precision she’d cultivated over that year with a heart full of hatred and pain, and she had wanted the man in front of her to <em>suffer</em>, to shake and fall apart before her, to be just as afraid as she had been when he’d torn her mother from her.</p><p> </p><p>She had wanted to use her bending to destroy him. </p><p> </p><p>Now, she just wanted everything to stop. Because then, she could compose herself, settle the raging turmoil in her chest and <em>focus</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Unbidden, she thought about soft lips and hands that gripped the back of her dress with a sort of desperation that had made her head <em>spin</em>. </p><p> </p><p>It was times like these when she envied Toph’s and Aang’s abilities to feel the earth beneath their feet, to know where everything touching its surface was. Her toes gripped the sodden earth beneath her, but there was nothing there besides the feeling of mud. </p><p> </p><p>She resisted the urge to throw all the water she’d suspended in her rage. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Where would he have gone? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>With a growl, she let the water fall around her. She looked up, squinting through the rain at the dark sky, covered in clouds, searching for something, <em>anything</em>. </p><p> </p><p>And, well, she hadn’t been expecting Appa, but there he was, barrelling towards her. She couldn’t hear him, not over the rain, but she could imagine his roars as he descended, his mouth opening and closing as he cried out in distress. Her heart sank. A chill ran down her spine and grappled with her ribs. Suddenly, it hurt to breathe.</p><p> </p><p>When Appa landed, Katara didn’t waste a second. There was plenty of water around her to work with, and it was easy to bend it so that it carried her up to Appa’s head. She settled there with her hands on the reins and tried to pretend like they weren’t shaking. She knew she wasn’t cold. </p><p> </p><p>“Take me to him!” </p><p> </p><p>Lightning flashed overhead. Appa didn’t even need her to say <em>yip yip.</em> <br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>He was curled in on himself, and he looked so small from this distance. </p><p> </p><p>The cave he was huddled in wasn’t far from the palace — Appa had gotten them there in less than five minutes, although to Katara, it had felt like hours. She was wound so tight she was afraid to move, lest she shatter completely. </p><p> </p><p>All of that went flying out of her mind when she saw him there, lying so still. Appa let out another roar, gnashing his teeth as he flew faster. Katara held on tight, not bothering to bend a barrier around her to keep the water from pelting her as hard as it was. She didn’t even notice the pain. </p><p> </p><p>When Appa landed outside of the cave — he wasn’t quite small enough to fit — Katara jumped from his head, ignoring the way her knees and ankles jarred as she landed hard. Her mind wasn’t focused on landing correctly, on cushioning the blow and rolling to her feet. She wasn’t in a fight. </p><p> </p><p>She was dealing with something far worse. </p><p> </p><p>Thunder rumbled through the sky as she ran for the cave. “Aang!” She screamed his name, desperate to see him move, to see him lift his head and meet her eyes, bright gray falling onto her stubborn blue. </p><p> </p><p>Aang didn’t even shift. </p><p> </p><p>As she entered the cave’s mouth, she slid to her knees, panting hard as she stopped at his side. Up close, she could see that he was shaking. His eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth gritted and his jaw clenched against whatever pain he was feeling, and he wasn’t responding when she said his name, and <em>Spirits</em> he was so cold, and were those tears streaming down his face? </p><p> </p><p>“Aang, it’s me, I’m right here, please tell me what’s wrong, please, I can—”</p><p> </p><p>The cave lit up and shuddered as lightning chased a deafening clap of thunder. Aang’s eyes shot open, and he screamed, his hands flying towards his chest, his nails digging into his skin as he scratched and clawed there. </p><p> </p><p>His eyes were unseeing as he frantically backed away from the cave opening. Katara didn’t understand — he’d never reacted to storms like this before, not even after Azula had shot him full of lightning. While he had always shown a sort of discomfort while flying through them — Katara couldn’t help but think back to the story of how he’d ended up in that iceberg, about the storm that had driven both him and Appa into the unforgiving sea — he’d never reacted this strongly before. Katara didn’t know what to do; for a few moments, she was frozen, eyes wide and her hands held out and away from her body. They were suspended between herself and Aang, and she wasn’t quite sure if she was trying to hold them out in a placating gesture, or if she was creating a barrier between them. The look in his eyes, so primal and full of such raw, unrivaled terror...it scared her. </p><p> </p><p>But it could never scare her as much as watching him lose himself did. It didn’t matter if he was in the Avatar State or if he was like this, huddled against the back of the small cave they were in, eyes unseeing and breaths unnaturally erratic. She could never bear to watch him hurt and just <em>sit there</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Katara approached him slowly, swallowing thickly as she tried to soothe him. She prayed that there’d be no more lightning, that the sky would rest and that, more importantly, it would let <em>him</em> rest. </p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t screaming anymore, but he also wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were focused somewhere over her shoulder, owlish and glassy, but far from empty. </p><p> </p><p>“Aang, I’m here,” she said as she knelt in front of him. His eyes darted to meet hers, and she could’ve sobbed with relief at the sight. She tried to smile, but the pain in her heart just made it feel heavy. He was still shaking, his bare upper-body soaked with water. His chest heaved up and down as he watched her approach. </p><p> </p><p>“Ka-Katara?” </p><p> </p><p>His voice sounded <em>so small</em>. </p><p> </p><p>As Aang’s gray eyes searched her face, she waited, air caught in her tangled throat. </p><p> </p><p>When his face contorted and he turned away from her, hugging himself around his torso, it felt like being stabbed. </p><p> </p><p>“Go away. Please.” </p><p> </p><p>Katara had grown to be an expert at hiding her pain behind anger, at donning a hard, cold mask of authority and practicality. But this time, as she reached for it, it wasn’t there. </p><p> </p><p>And it <em>hurt</em>. </p><p> </p><p>“Aang, you’re hurting. You can’t...you cannot honestly expect me to just leave you here.” Thunder barreled its way through the sky, and lightning followed it almost immediately. Katara didn’t miss the way he flinched. </p><p> </p><p>“Please, Katara.” His voice trembled with exhaustion and strain. He kept his face hidden from view. Without thinking, she went to lift her hand to his face, to gently tilt it towards herself. </p><p> </p><p>She stopped short, her eyes darting away from him and towards the ground. Her hand fell limp to her lap where she’d lowered herself to the ground on her knees.</p><p> </p><p>“You always do this,” Katara whispered. She hoped he could hear the hurt there, riding the waves of her voice. </p><p> </p><p>She hoped he could sense the anger there too, the same that had her clenching her hands into tight fists. </p><p> </p><p>She also hoped he wasn’t looking at her; she didn’t want him to see the tears that were balancing precariously on her lashes. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t have a choice.” Aang’s voice sounded bitter, a caustic edge she’d rarely heard from him surprising her as it cut into her heart. </p><p> </p><p>The last time he’d sounded like this, they’d been on that Fire Navy ship, and he’d been adamant about how he had to defeat the Firelord alone, about how he couldn’t put anyone else in harm’s way. About how it had just been <em>his</em> responsibility. </p><p> </p><p>The memory, coupled with the frustration already brewing hot and acidic in her gut, made it much easier to reach for her anger than it had been before. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t give me that,” she bit out. “Don’t-don’t you <em>dare</em> give me that. How-how can you still believe that you have to deal with everything on your own?” One tear trailed down her face; it only made her more furious. “After everything we’ve been through, how could you still not trust us to carry this with you?! How can you not—” Her voice wavered. She dug her nails into her palms even harder, let the pain ground her. Her throat hurt from holding back her tears, and she hated it. “How can you not trust <em>me</em>?!” </p><p> </p><p>It was an impossible feat, keeping her voice from cracking. That didn’t mean it was any less infuriating when it did. </p><p> </p><p>Aang whirled on her, fast and unexpected, and she leaned back, her eyes wide. His were narrowed, and his jaw was clenched so tight she thought it might snap. It took her a moment to realize he was now standing, his fists clenched at his sides, the muscles in his forearms taught with the strain.</p><p> </p><p>She knew he would never hurt her, but she was still afraid. Of what, she couldn’t be sure.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not it! <em>None</em> of you get it! None of you had your <em>entire people wiped out</em> because of <em>you</em>! None of you came a hundred years late to war that, hey, again, happened <em>because of you</em>! None of you had <em>hundreds of thousands </em>of people’s deaths on your conscience, and none of you had a target you had to face <em>alone</em>!” He brought one hand to his chest. “I’m the Avatar! The Bridge, the Peace-Keeper, the world’s hope! For me, it doesn’t matter that the war’s over! I’ll--” He sucked in a shaky breath, the hand over his chest closing into a fist that shook. “I’ll never be done fighting. You guys...you guys can all live for your loved ones, for yourselves. You can build your lives and be happy. But I’ll always…” He deflated, hunching into himself as his hand dropped back to his side. “I’ll always have to live for the world.” </p><p> </p><p>Katara didn’t know what to say. She was struck speechless, words springing to her lips and dying again and again, because she just didn’t know what to <em>say</em>. </p><p> </p><p>His words hit her hard. She wanted to tell him that everything he’d just said was wrong. And there was truth in that. He couldn’t blame himself for the savage hatred and violence Firelord Ozai and his father had chosen to rule with. He couldn’t blame himself for each and every life that had been taken by the war. If he did, it would drive him <em>insane</em>. He’d just been twelve years old, and it wasn’t his fault that becoming the Avatar, that the belief that he would lose everything he thought he’d known, would spur him to run, to try to get away. And it surely wasn’t his fault that the Fire Nation had decided to wipe out the Air Nomads. He was just a twelve-year-old kid.</p><p> </p><p>Looking at him now, seeing how he’d grown...she couldn’t believe he still was. </p><p> </p><p>But Katara knew that there was truth in what he said, as well. The thunder outside roared in tune with the shattering of her heart, and she wished briefly that it hadn’t been Aang. That he didn’t have to be the Avatar. That he could just be himself — the happy, lovable, kind, brave kid he was. </p><p> </p><p>She dismissed the thought entirely. Aang was as much the Avatar as he was those other things. Neither she nor Aang could change that. And she didn’t want to.</p><p> </p><p>If he hadn’t been the Avatar, she never would’ve met him. He would’ve died with the other Air Nomads. </p><p> </p><p>She would have never had the chance to fall in love with him. </p><p> </p><p>Katara opened her mouth to speak, but Aang cut her off. </p><p> </p><p>“Please, Katara, just—”</p><p> </p><p>Before he could ask her to leave — <em>again </em>— his eyes widened and he doubled over, gripping the center of his chest as he collapsed to his knees with a cry. Katara surged forward, desperate to reach him, their argument, for the time being, erased by her panic, by her need to get to him, to <em>help him.</em> </p><p> </p><p>Aang pitched forward, catching himself on the arm that wasn’t wrapped around his chest. He let out another cry as she reached him. As she wrapped her arms around him, she could feel just how hard he was shaking. The panic bubbling in her core was hard to keep under control, but she managed, entering the clinical mode she always did whenever she was dealing with an injury. </p><p> </p><p>“Where?” She asked, trying and failing to keep her voice entirely level. Her heart was hammering so hard in her chest, she had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from spiraling. </p><p> </p><p>Aang reached out and gripped her wrist, hard. She fought back a wince as he lifted it towards his chest, right in the center. </p><p> </p><p>She didn’t waste any time positioning him onto his back. As she bended the water from her pouch and covered her hands in it, Aang arched his back off the ground, his nails digging into the stone beneath him. She reached forward and, as gently as she could, pressed his torso back down. His teeth were gritted, his eyes squeezed shut against the tears that flowed down his cheeks. </p><p> </p><p>She pressed her hands to his chest and got to work, reminding him constantly that he was going to be fine. <em>I’m right here Aang, I’m not going anywhere, just stay with me, okay? It’s almost over, I promise. </em></p><p> </p><p>“Just stay with me.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Upon first opening his eyes, Aang’s first thought, foggy and barely-formed as it was, had him shooting upright, panic shooting through his ribcage in fast, painful bursts. </p><p> </p><p>The fact that he was surrounded in red and gold didn’t help matters, either. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Not again. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>This time, at least, he wasn’t in as much pain. As he prepared to fling his legs over the side of the bed, the covers falling from his exposed torso, the discomfort in his chest was more than manageable. With a shaky breath and one arm wrapped around his middle, he prepared to push himself to his feet, his eyes trained warily on the double doors across from him. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I’m sure there are Fire Nation soldiers standing outside of the door...there isn’t much else I can do besides powering through both them and the doors at the same time. Maybe if I—</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The doors swung inwards, and Aang threw his free arm out in a wide arc, airbending before he even looked to see who it was. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Gah</em>!” </p><p> </p><p>Aang blinked, shifting out of his fighting stance only slightly. </p><p> </p><p>“What’d you do that for?! Geez, can’t a guy just check on his friends around here without getting attacked?! You’re just as bad as Zuko…” </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Sokka</em>?” Aang asked, already knowing the answer — Sokka was literally sprawled out on the floor in front of him. He sat back onto the mattress, hard. </p><p> </p><p>“Uh, yeah? Who else?” Sokka groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, rubbing what must have been a sore spot on the back of his head. </p><p> </p><p>Aang would’ve replied, he honestly would have. But his head was swimming with the realization that he hadn’t been captured by the Fire Nation, that he’d just attacked one of his <em>best friends</em>, and—</p><p> </p><p>“Woah there, man, it’s cool. I’m fine.” Sokka was kneeling in front of him, pulling Aang’s hands away from his head. Had he been gripping it? He didn’t remember, although he could now feel where he must have been digging his nails in. </p><p> </p><p><em>Falling apart. In front of them.</em> Again. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m so sorry,” he choked out. “I-I don’t know what I was <em>thinking—</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, seriously Aang, it’s all good. Come on, you think I can’t handle a little wind? Or have you forgotten all of our adventures so soon?” </p><p> </p><p>Aang clenched his jaw, refusing to meet Sokka’s gaze. They both knew airbending could hurt a lot more than just “a little wind.” </p><p> </p><p>“Aang?” </p><p> </p><p><em>Katara</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Aang’s head shot up, whipping sideways to see Katara in the doorway, a basin of water in her hands. </p><p> </p><p>It only took him a few seconds to remember the cave, however hazy the images were. </p><p> </p><p><em>Not good</em>. </p><p> </p><p>He wished he could hide. He wished he could run. He wanted to avoid and evade <em>so badly</em>, to have more time to assess the situation, without facing it head-on—</p><p> </p><p>Toph would be so mad at him. </p><p> </p><p>With a deep breath, he tried to smile. He knew it was actually a grimace. </p><p> </p><p>“Hi, Katara.” </p><p> </p><p>It was quiet, for a few, tense moments. </p><p> </p><p>Katara’s grip on the basin visibly tightened. She looked like she was preparing herself for something. The muscles in her arms tensed, and she breathed out heavily through her nose. Aang noticed the dark shadows under her eyes, was reminded briefly of the time Azula had chased them through the night, and then some. </p><p> </p><p>Only this time, it was because of <em>him</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Katara directed her attention towards her brother. Aang kept his eyes on his lap, fidgeting with his hands in an abortive attempt to distract himself. Sokka stood up before she had a chance to say anything. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah yeah, I can read a room. Just don’t do anything that would give me the oogies, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Sokka</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m <em>going</em>,” he drawled, taking his leave, but not before he briefly settled his hand on Aang’s shoulder. By the time Aang looked up, Sokka was already turned away, walking towards the door. Katara kept her gaze away from her brother, her shoulders hiked up slightly as she waited for him to pass. He shut the door behind him, and then it was just Aang and Katara. </p><p> </p><p>Neither moved or said a word. Soon enough, the tension was so thick Aang could feel it bearing down on him with its crushing, oppressive weight, and he couldn’t take it anymore. </p><p> </p><p>“So…” he started, an awkward smile plastered onto his face. He was sure this one looked at least a little more genuine. He rubbed the back of his neck, felt his shoulders get all cozy with his ears. There were some habits he just couldn’t break. “Sleep well?”</p><p> </p><p>The glare she shot his way singed him. Spirits, he always managed to say the exact wrong thing, didn’t he? </p><p> </p><p>“Heh, nevermind. Sorry.” Aang lowered his arm as Katara approached. She just shook her head as she set the basin down next to the bed. He just wanted her to say <em>something</em>. </p><p> </p><p>“Can you lay back? I’d like to check on your chest, and then I’ll have you turn over. You aggravated the old injury again.” </p><p> </p><p>Aang swallowed thickly, felt just how dry his mouth was, but he didn’t dare ask for water. The clinical, clipped tone of her voice wasn’t as comforting as he thought it would be. The question he wanted to ask hung between them, obvious and glaring. He chewed on his lower lip and stayed sitting. </p><p> </p><p>Katara had bended the water onto her hands and was now facing him again. When she noticed Aang hadn’t done as she’d asked, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration and her lips pressed together into a thin, downward-sloping line. “Aang, please—”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know?” He blurted out. </p><p> </p><p>This time, she looked more confused than angry. “Do I know what?”</p><p> </p><p>“...You know....”</p><p> </p><p>“No Aang, I don’t.” The anger was back. </p><p> </p><p>He groaned, felt the frustration build. The breathing exercises the monks had taught him were failing him. He just didn’t want to say it. </p><p> </p><p>But he did anyway. </p><p> </p><p>“That I messed up? Badly?” He said it so quietly, a part of him wondered if he’d have to repeat himself. He really, really hoped he wouldn’t have to. </p><p> </p><p>Katara’s expression shifted again. The anger was still there, but a lot of it had been replaced with something sadder. It wasn’t any less hard. “I don’t see how the Firelord shooting you with lightning could be counted as a mistake on your part.” </p><p> </p><p>Aang glowered at her. “Why not? It happened because I wasn’t fast enough to dodge, and I didn’t redirect it correctly.”  </p><p> </p><p>Her eyes narrowed further. “It’s not anymore your fault than it is Zuko’s for getting shot.” She clenched her fists, the water still wrapped around her hands. “Please, Aang, you need to lie down—”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s permanent, isn’t it?” Aang started, ignoring her. He was looking down at his hands, and he noticed how the tremors of his heart were strong enough to make his fingers shake. He felt sweat break out along his forehead. “If-if it aggravated the other injury, and-and if it was still hurting me like that almost a week after, there has to be some permanent damage, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Aang—”</p><p> </p><p>“Am I...am I <em>messed up</em>, now? Like, bad? What can we do about it? Because I don’t know how I can be the Avatar the world wants me to be if I have to deal with <em>this</em> and—”</p><p> </p><p>“Aang!” </p><p> </p><p>Her hands were on his face, cupped around his cheeks. They were forcing him to stare into her eyes, and he wished he didn’t feel so terrified, because he was sure it showed. The anger in hers had finally melted away, and he found himself lost in the softness her gaze held. </p><p> </p><p>“Please, Aang. Let me heal you, and I’ll explain. I promise.” </p><p> </p><p>Aang felt the fast rate of his breathing slow, felt the frantic pace of his heart slacken. Her hands were cold and soft, wrinkled slightly from the water that had been coating her skin. She anchored him, just as she had when he’d gone into the Avatar State, her eyes sad and unafraid. </p><p> </p><p>He sighed, closing his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay?” She said, her voice small. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” he acknowledged, lowering himself back onto the mattress where his head could rest on a pillow. He kept his eyes focused on the ceiling above. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” Katara said as she bended the water around her hands once more. </p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“I...I don’t know if it’s permanent or not.” She started moving her hands over his chest. He shut his eyes, wincing as she hit a particularly sore spot right in the center. She paused, seeming to focus on that particular area. </p><p> </p><p>“Great,” he choked out through gritted teeth. She was definitely in the right spot.  </p><p> </p><p>Katara continued as if she hadn’t heard the sarcastic comment. “From what I can tell with the water, the lightning damaged some nerves, and it’s all closely concentrated here,” she paused right over the center of his chest, “and where Azula shot you.” Aang felt the water move again, digging his nails into his palms. “I...I don’t think the attacks you were experiencing will happen again, now that I’ve been able to treat you.” The underlying message of her words was not lost on him: if he’d come to her sooner, a lot of this could have been avoided. He didn’t need her to tell him. </p><p> </p><p>“But it’s possible that other effects might stay with you. I-I don’t know enough about lightning injuries yet, but after talking with Zuko, he said he’s been experiencing numbness, pain, and tingling. Does...does any of that sound familiar?” Katara sounded so unsure of herself, and Aang opened his eyes, turning towards her. It was rare for her to sound like that.</p><p> </p><p>“No, that...that sounds right.” It did. He surely had been experiencing numbness, and, well, did he need to mention the pain? </p><p> </p><p>He watched as Katara nodded. She pulled her hands back, gesturing for him to turn over. She healed his back, focusing on the scar at the center, and neither of them said a word. When she finished, she leaned back, depositing the water back into the basin. She settled her attention back on him, her hands folded neatly in her lap, and Aang waited for her to speak. He could tell she had something she wanted to say. </p><p> </p><p>“Are...are you in any pain?” She asked. Aang didn’t miss the hoarseness of her voice, the exhaustion dripping from her tone. </p><p> </p><p><em>My fault</em>. </p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, glancing down at his chest as he reached up with one hand, lightly caressing the area she’d just healed. “No, not right now, thanks to you.” </p><p> </p><p>He glanced back up. Katara’s face was turned away, her lips pursed together, her hands now gripping each other with enough force to send tremors up her forearms. The guilt sat heavy in his gut, a lead ball of shame that only made it feel that much harder to sit up all the way. </p><p> </p><p>He wished the indignant anger that had been brewing in his heart would slip away. But it held on to him tight, dug its claws into his flesh and made him <em>bleed</em>. Trying to tear away from it only intensified the pain. </p><p> </p><p>“Why didn’t you just tell someone?” </p><p> </p><p>Aang closed his eyes for a moment, felt the emotion that had been slowly ripping him to shreds over the past week culminate in the back of his throat, right where he had to fight to hold back tears. </p><p> </p><p>Spirits, he just felt so <em>tired</em>. </p><p> </p><p>“I...I didn’t want to burden anyone.” He couldn’t look at Katara, not after admitting that, not after confessing to something he knew to be so stupid, so weak. </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t want her to see the truth in his eyes — he still believed it. </p><p> </p><p>But when she whirled on him, he couldn’t help but meet her gaze. He couldn’t help but feel a part of him shatter when he saw the tears in her eyes, when he saw the way she was working so hard to keep her bottom lip from trembling. </p><p> </p><p>The fury in her eyes only set the sadness ablaze, and it was hot enough to burn him. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, I hope you got your <em>wish</em>.” </p><p> </p><p>With that, she stood and went to storm out of the room. </p><p> </p><p>Aang didn’t hesitate. He wasn’t thinking about their conversation, about the things he didn’t want to admit, about the exhaustion sitting deep in his bones. He leapt out of the bed and ran after her. </p><p> </p><p>“Katara, wait!”</p><p> </p><p>By the time he caught up with her, she’d reached the door. Her hand was already on the handle — it rested there, and he watched with bated breath as she waited, undecided as he stood behind her, breathing hard with the exertion of getting up as fast as he had. </p><p> </p><p>“Katara, please,” Aang said, his hands lifted slightly from his sides in a pleading gesture. Her shoulders tensed, and her hand gripped the handle so tightly, he thought she might rip it clean off. </p><p> </p><p>“What, Aang?” Her voice was dangerous — everything about her in that moment felt dangerous. He wanted to reach for her. He didn’t think she’d let him. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice splintering and cracking all over the edges. “I-I shouldn’t have gone to that cave—”</p><p> </p><p>“Why didn’t you tell <em>me</em>?!” Katara cut him off, whirling around and stepping towards him with her hand pressed over her heart. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurting? Why didn’t you tell me you were in that much pain?!” She tightened her jaw, her teeth gritted as she stood there, her eyes overflowing with her own hurt, her own sadness. “Why didn’t…” </p><p> </p><p>She stepped closer to him, the hand placed over her heart closing into a fist. Her shoulders slumped forward, and she looked away from him for a moment. This time, when his hand brushed hers, she grasped it, hard. Aang didn’t flinch. He was much too focused on Katara. </p><p> </p><p>When she suddenly reached forward and pulled him into her, he was, initially, too shocked to move. She held him with arms that trembled against his back, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. His eyes were wide, staring out at the door over her shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me you felt so alone?” Her voice was thick with tears. Aang felt his own thinly veiled composure begin to slip. His lower lip trembled, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. “I...I know that—that even though the war is over, there’s still <em>so much</em> to do. We all know that.” Her arms tightened around his shoulders. “But...how could you think that you would have to do it all alone? After everything...why?” </p><p> </p><p>Aang closed his eyes. “I...I didn’t think any of you would want to spend the rest of your lives rebuilding a world I tore down with my actions.” <em>Or, the lack thereof</em>. The first tears started to fall, trailing slowly down his face and catching on the curve of his jaw. “And...I didn’t think you’d want to spend the rest of your life loving an Avatar who...who has no idea what he’s doing, who—who’s going to be constantly pulled around by the next catastrophe. The Avatar belongs to the world.” His hands remained limp at his sides. He realized that holding her now could only hurt her. But he needed to tell her the truth. He <em>needed</em> to. “I didn’t think you’d want to spend the rest of your life dealing with that.” </p><p> </p><p>And there it was—the fear, the insecurities that had been plaguing his mind, the same ones he’d so foolishly allowed to slip away when she’d kissed him outside Iroh’s tea shop. The bitter acceptance he held towards his role as the Avatar, the realization that his life couldn’t just be his. It couldn’t just belong to him, or any of the people he loved. For the Avatar, the world was always supposed to come first, right? </p><p> </p><p>“So why…” Aang started as he tentatively reached up, wrapping his arms around Katara. He wondered what she was thinking, wished briefly that he could see her face. He knew that this — this faceless, expressionless interaction — was much, much easier. “Why is it that I can’t do the right thing?” His breath hitched on a sob. He ground his teeth together to hold back the onslaught of despair and self-loathing that was tearing through him. “Why can’t I be the Avatar the world wants me to be? Why…” He fisted his hands in the back of her dress. “Why would it mean letting go of <em>you</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>He could still remember the guru’s words as he’d flown away on Appa’s back, about how he had to let go of Katara in order to enter the Avatar State. </p><p> </p><p>He remembered that he <em>had</em>, right when things were at their darkest. </p><p> </p><p>Then, he’d died. And he’d woken up with Katara hovering over him with tears in her eyes, and he hadn’t been able to let her go. </p><p> </p><p>Aang was beyond grateful for the fact that he’d been able to use the Avatar State in his fight with the Firelord. Of <em>course</em> he was. But he was aware that his control over it was still tentative, and he was aware that Katara had always pulled him out of it whenever he couldn’t do it himself. </p><p> </p><p>What could he do, without her there? What <em>would</em> he do? </p><p> </p><p>Was it fair of him to ask her to be his anchor? Would she even <em>want</em> to be?</p><p> </p><p>Was it okay for the Avatar to be so dependent on someone else for something that was supposed to be in their nature? </p><p> </p><p>Was it okay for Aang to love her so much that he was willing to give up everything else? Was it okay that loving her, <em>being</em> with her, meant so much more to him than being the Avatar ever did? </p><p> </p><p>“I can’t let you go, Katara.” Aang turned his head, burying it deeper in her shoulder. She still hadn’t said a word. He was terrified of knowing what she thought. </p><p> </p><p>And a part of him was desperately hopeful that she’d choose to stay. </p><p> </p><p>Katara pulled away. Before Aang’s heart could finish its descent through the floor, Katara reached up, holding his face between her hands. Her expression was solemn and sad, her eyes soft. She wiped a stray tear from his face. The corners of her mouth turned up as she tilted her head slightly. </p><p> </p><p>“You’ll never have to worry about that. None of us are going anywhere. <em>I’m</em> not going anywhere.”</p><p> </p><p>His eyes shot downwards, and he bit into his lower lip. “Would you guys be okay with that, though? It isn’t...it isn’t your responsibility. You guys have a choice. Why would you choose <em>this</em>?” </p><p> </p><p>Katara reached down with one hand, grasping his where it had fallen limp to his side. She cupped his face, and he found himself leaning into her touch without meaning to. </p><p> </p><p>“Because of you, Aang.” </p><p> </p><p>He frowned. “Because of me?” His voice came out breathless, soft and confused. </p><p> </p><p>“We don’t expect it to be easy.” Her voice was solid, strong, just like her. Aang sank into it, let it wrap him up and hold him even as he stared into her eyes with questions spiraling through his. “We <em>know</em> it won’t be. But everything that happened? Everything the Fire Nation did to the world, to your people? None of it’s your fault.” Her gaze shifted downwards, her lips pursed together. “It isn’t just your responsibility. It’s all of ours. It’s all the leaders of the nations. It’s going to take a long time to undo what Firelord Ozai and his father and <em>his</em> father did to the world.” She laughed then, a tiny, joyful sound that made Aang’s chest feel so much lighter. “But we accomplished <em>so much</em> together in less than a year. <em>Together</em>.” Katara leaned in, pressing her lips to Aang’s forehead. He felt his cheeks heat up as she pulled back. “You don’t need to shoulder all of this on your own.”</p><p> </p><p>And although her words meant more to him than he could ever hope to express, his eyes still raced away from hers, and his head still tilted downwards as more words rested at the tip of his tongue. He pushed them over the edge. </p><p> </p><p>“And...and if it’s permanent? If...if I can’t get over it…” <em>If I still wake up every night with a scream in my throat and lightning in my back? If I still can’t see fire without thinking about how close it came to ending me?</em> “What then?”</p><p> </p><p>The expression on Katara’s face told him she knew what he truly meant, that she understood the words he had never said, had left in the base of his throat to die. </p><p> </p><p>She traced one hand over his chest, right where she’d just healed him. It almost seemed absentminded, the way she did it. With her other hand, she caressed his cheek, and he didn’t miss the way her eyes glanced down briefly to his lips. She started to lean in, and he closed his eyes as her breath ghosted over his skin. He shivered, and waited.</p><p> </p><p>“Then you will still be the brave—“ she pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. He didn’t think it was possible to describe the way it made him feel; the way <em>she</em> made him feel. “—strong Avatar who saved the world.” She was whispering now, her hand tracing the curve of his jaw. “But more than that, you’ll still be Aang. The boy I fell in love with.” He didn’t need to open his eyes to know she was mere centimeters in front of him, to feel her breathing against his skin. “And that will always, <em>always</em> be enough.” </p><p> </p><p>Aang felt something in his chest shatter, then. As a sob rose from his core, he almost felt his legs give out from the sheer relief that was encompassing him, and the taut, burning tension that had been keeping him up during long nights and grueling days snapped without warning. When he collapsed into Katara’s arms, his head buried in her shoulder, he felt her lower him to the ground on their knees. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Thank you</em>,” he cried, his voice breaking and wavering as he spoke.</p><p> </p><p>She just held him tighter, whispering in his ear: “Always.”  </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
It was raining outside. </p><p> </p><p>Aang stood by the window and watched the water droplets trail their ways slowly down the glass. When thunder rang out through the sky, his hands involuntarily clenched around his staff. </p><p> </p><p>He felt arms wrapping around his middle. Without thinking about it, he leaned back into Katara, felt her rest her head on his shoulder after pressing a slow, soft kiss to his neck. </p><p> </p><p>Lightning flashed through the sky, and he shut his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose. </p><p> </p><p>“We don’t have to leave now, sweetie. I’m sure the Earth King would understand.”</p><p> </p><p>Aang reached back over his shoulder, lacing his fingers with Katara’s. He squeezed them and settled his gaze back out into the storm, felt determination and defiance slip into his expression and set his jaw. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s already been one month since the war ended. It’s time the Peace Restoration movement be put into action.” </p><p> </p><p>He could feel Katara about to protest, knew it was coming before she’d even drawn in air to speak. </p><p> </p><p>“Exactly! Besides, I miss our little adventures. It’s about time we get back out there.”</p><p> </p><p>Sokka stepped up beside them, settling his hand on Aang’s shoulder. Aang smiled up at him. </p><p> </p><p>Sokka beamed back at him, but it didn’t take long for his face to contort as he stuck out his tongue, covering his eyes. “<em>Bleh</em>! So many <em>oogies</em>!” </p><p> </p><p>“It’s your fault for just barging into rooms without prompting.” Katara was leaning back now, although her hands were still wrapped lightly around Aang’s middle. He couldn’t say he minded, although their position only had his face flushing the more he thought about the fact that <em>Sokka was seeing them like this.</em></p><p> </p><p>Sokka threw his arms out wildly. “If you guys weren’t so <em>oogie</em> all the time, that wouldn’t be a problem!”</p><p> </p><p>Aang glanced over his shoulder, his eyes wide and undoubtedly embarrassed. The smirk on Katara’s face didn’t help matters. </p><p> </p><p>Aang felt the fear creep into his voice. “Uh, Katara…?”</p><p> </p><p>“What, you mean <em>this</em> much ‘oogie’?”</p><p> </p><p>And with that, Katara turned him around and pressed her lips against his. </p><p> </p><p>Although Aang was currently mortified, he couldn’t help the way he melted into her, reaching up to tangle his hands in her long hair. She pulled him impossibly closer, and Aang felt her smiling against his lips. </p><p> </p><p>Sokka was screaming next to them, but Aang discovered, in that moment, that he couldn’t care less. </p><p> </p><p>The storm outside faded away, too. </p><p> </p><p>He guessed — no, he <em>knew</em> — that Katara just had that effect on him. </p><p><br/>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My tumblr: adariasakura</p></blockquote></div></div>
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